Lazy Person's Guide to Retirement

Things I have not yet managed to accomplish in my first six days of retirement:

1. Clean out closet of professional clothing to give away
2. Re-arrange office furniture and clean out file cabinets
3. Lose any amount of weight
4. Get rid of pesky cold
5. Post daily to my blog (or even weekly!)
6. Garden--AT ALL

So far, my life in retirement is not at all as I expected. All those visions I had of myself accomplishing all those things that I never got a chance to do while holding down a job, poof. I now have nothing but time and can't seem to get to any of them!

The thing I am appreciating, however, is the absence of hurrying. I went to lunch with a friend this week; we had terrible service and the lunch took over 2 hours, but I didn't care. I was spending time with one of my very favorite people and I had nothing to get to, nowhere else to be. I ran an errand afterward and, all told, was "gone for lunch" for over four hours.

At least I was able to get on that eliptical trainer before going to our friends' house for dinner. They, of course, asked me what I did with Day Two of my retirement--lunch and work out--pretty much what I did with Day One. No one can believe it takes the whole day to have lunch and work out!

The problem, I'm finding with the "to do" list, is it really doesn't matter at all if it doesn't get done. The big important thing are getting done, like writing thank-you notes for all the thoughtful gifts and kind words that friends and colleagues have sent my way. But with so many things to do, and only a mere 16 waking-hours a day, there's just no way to get them all done in one day, so why not spread the list out over several days, or rather, several years.

It is wonderful, really, this feeling of being totally unproductive. Surprising, but wonderful. I really do want to get to the zillions of things I want to get to, but it is quite a novelty to have no real reason to have to get to them just yet.

Comments

[Elizabeth]

To modify a term from the unschooling community, sounds like you're "deworking"--letting your mind and body rest and adjust to the change. Enjoy your vacation--I'm sure you'll start feeling like doing the "productive" stuff sooner or later. Glad to see a post again!

[Retired Syd]

Elizabeth:

I like that, kind of like detoxing, but it's work that I'm recovering from!

Now if I could just de-cold. I'm sure I'd have more energy if I wasn't hacking coughing.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Syd

[Canadian Dream]

Syd,

Ah, enjoy it all. Be lazy and LOVE IT. Your retired now life is what ever you want it to be.

Tim

[larry macdonald]

Sydney:
I’m preparing an article on early retirement for Canadian Business Online, and would like to include your story in the piece. I’ve enjoyed reading several of your blog posts and plan to mention a few things from them. I would just have a few supplementary questions:

1) How has early retirement been like for you?
2) Any advice to others on how to reach early retirement?

Can you get back by Wednesday afternoon?

Thanks,
Larry MacDonald

[Jodybmcgraw]

My wife and I just retired after a collective 65 years of teaching high school. Our early retirement experience has been strange and wonderful. On day one we arose before 5 AM to take a photo of the first sunrise of our new chapter...then went back to bed. Since then, our experience has been similar to that described by Elizabeth. In the past our summers were a rush to complete all the items on our "to do" lists which were excessively long. Our rew motto is "don't do today what we can put off 'till tomorrow."...Mañana! The great motivator, the encroachment of day#1 of the next school year has evaporated and it is oh so liberating! Maybe the fall will be a time for getting things done...Or, maybe not. Until then, let the biking, sailing, gardening, and dining continue!

[Jodybmcgraw]

Strange but true, I am logged in vie my wife Jody's Facebook acct. I am actually David!f

[Retired Syd]

David: I have used that one a LOT (why do today what you can put off until tomorrow!) Sounds like you're getting with the program right away! Congratulations to you both!